


Handyman

by S_Horne



Series: Stony September AUs [25]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sarah Rogers - Freeform, Shy Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 13:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16097036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: It wasn’t that Tony was shy (he was); it was just that Steve was… Steve.He was big to start with; a huge, hulking tower of muscles that made any room seem small. He was loud, too. It was a good loud, though, confident without being over-cocky and booming without being brash.He was pretty much everything that Tony was not.Put Tony in front of a computer or drop him in a lab and he excelled like no one had ever seen before, but place him in front of a man that he was attracted to and he froze. Froze quicker than a frozen thing in the arctic. See! Even his brain froze. And Tony didn’t like not having total brain function. That was his thing.And Steve made that go away./Based on the prompt: Person A and person B are neighbours on the verge of something, when one night person A overhears B crying in their apartment. They talk B through it and things between them change.





	Handyman

**Author's Note:**

> 25\. Neighbours 
> 
>  
> 
> Whelp. This started light and fluffy and funny and then this shit show happened.   
> I totally ran out of time and I might come back to it one day and expand it. Who knows? I hope you like some of it, at least.

“Good morning.”

Tony startled at the voice and span around. He relaxed a little when he saw who was stood there, though his cheeks coloured. “Oh,” he said, mentally berating himself for his stupidity. “Good morning.”

Steve grinned widely and Tony flushed even more. It was always the same and Tony was powerless.

He envied his neighbour so much, not only for his incredible body and his gorgeous looks, but also for his confidence. Ever since the first time that they had bumped into each other in their shared corridor, Steve had been so sure of himself, so confident in every way. They had been living opposite each other for over six months now and practically every time that they saw each other Steve would flirt outrageously.

And every time without fail Tony would blush from his head to his toes and Steve would laugh, not unkindly or mocking, before Tony all but ran away. Some days they managed a fully-fledged conversation, lasting maybe five minutes before Tony’s cheeks were a scarlet red and he tripped over his words.

Steve was wearing one of his suits though this morning and Tony couldn’t cope. So, like usual, as soon as Tony’s morning greeting had left his mouth, he turned on his heel and very calmly walked to the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. (Steve always took the elevator, which Tony was so thankful for.)

“You idiot,” Tony berated himself as the door to the stairwell swung shut, “you complete fool.”

 

 

It wasn’t that Tony was shy (he was); it was just that Steve was… _Steve._

He was big to start with; a huge, hulking tower of muscles that made any room seem small. He was loud, too. It was a good loud, though, confident without being over-cocky and booming without being brash.

He was pretty much everything that Tony was not.

Put Tony in front of a computer or drop him in a lab and he excelled like no one had ever seen before, but place him in front of a man that he was attracted to and he froze. Froze quicker than a frozen thing in the arctic. See! Even his brain froze. And Tony didn’t like not having total brain function. That was his thing.

And Steve made that go away.

It was scary. A good scary, Tony could admit, but scary nonetheless. Tony had never really had that before, someone interested in him and for such a long time. It terrified him on a daily basis.

One day, he kept telling himself, one day he would talk for ten whole minutes and give himself a medal. Or a date.

Either one.

 

 

/

 

 

It was late when Tony got home that night (well, pretty early in the morning actually), and all he wanted to do was crash. Just fall into bed and sleep and sleep and sleep. The first part of his plan he managed, but the second part didn’t come so easily.

Almost as soon as he lay down, he heard a noise coming from across the corridor. It was faint, just a muffled sort of something that Tony couldn’t really decipher. He didn’t know what made him get up out of bed and head to the door, the cool tiles on the floor making his sockless toes tingle.

He could hear the noise more clearly now that the door was open, though it was still faint. It sounded a bit like crying, like someone pacing so loudly it could be heard in the corridor.

They had all learnt the hard way that their apartment walls were thin and had luckily all become good friends to hide their embarrassment. Tony was guilty of late night Netflix binges, which was nowhere near as bad as Scott from across the hall who enjoyed private time hideously loudly. Or Maria who sung so terribly that they’d had complaints from people _in the streets._ Wanda talked to herself in an array of languages and Sam sounded like he would break the floorboards every time he took a step.

Steve was quiet though. Usually. Tonight seemed to be an exception and Tony wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad. There was a hitching sob and the sound of a fist hitting something hard and Tony realised it was bad.

He took a steeling breath and left his apartment, slipping across the corridor until he stopped outside of Steve’s door. Once there, Tony stopped awkwardly. He wasn’t sure what he was meant to do exactly. It wasn’t like he could just _knock._

What if Steve didn’t answer? What if Steve _did_ answer?

Tony couldn’t talk to him; not face to face.

Tony had just turned on his heel to leave when he heard another sob. He couldn’t just leave. He had to try _something._ Who knows what it would help or hinder? But he had to try. 

 

 

Tony knocked the door and waited. There wasn’t an answer; not that he had been expecting one. Tony sighed and took a deep breath.

“Hey.” His voice was husky and he cleared his throat before he tried again. “Hi, Steve. It’s Tony. From across the hall. I, um, I heard you – or I heard something, anyway – and I though… well, I, I thought I’d come and see if you were okay. I don’t know if you are. Are you?”

Tony didn’t get a reply and he sighed again when there was a slight cough followed by a deep sniff. “I guess not,” Tony answered himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know what it feels like. I, um… I’ve been there. Well, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’ve been somewhere, somewhere not good. It was… well. It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.

“Anyway. I just… I’ll go. I doubt this helped.”

Tony turned and had just lifted his foot to take a step when there was a soft noise from inside the apartment. “Stay.”

The voice was broken, low and husky, but it was still just as beautiful as when it was calling out to Tony in a morning and laughing brightly at the flush on his cheeks.

“Oh,” Tony said in surprise. “Oh, yeah. Sure. I got nowhere to be. Literally.” Tony folded his arms over his chest and leant against the wall next to Steve’s door. “I just got home from the lab and I made no plans other than to sleep. Total crash – that was my plan. I’ve got some work to look over in the morning, but I’m dreading it.

“Do you ever get those days where you just want to stop the world? Just lock the door and hide away from everyone and everything. I get the urge more often than most, I think, but I have a feeling you know what I’m talking about.”

Tony took another break and unfolded his arms, twisting his fingers together in front of his chest and inspecting his nails. “Although this probably isn’t what you want to talk about. It’s okay though, if you’re not… well. You can talk to me. I doubt I’ll do much more than squeak and run away, but I can listen through a wall.”

There was a pause before Tony gave a slight chuckle, no humour in his tone at all. “Are you even still there? I guess you don’t want to listen to me talk about it, even if you are. I’m sorry; this is why I don’t talk to people.”

He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment as he slid down the wall until he hit the floor. “The weirdest thing happened to me at work,” he blurted out suddenly. “I was in the lab and…”

/

Tony didn’t realise how long he had been talking for until the sun had begun to rise, casting shadows and beams of light down the hallway. A huge yawn cracked Tony’s jaw when he took a break and when he went to speak again he noticed how hoarse his voice was, how sore his throat was.

“Wow,” he said as another yawn cut him off. “It’s late. Well, early I guess. Damn. Sorry about that. I know I talk a lot, but I hope…” Tony let that sentence trail off, not entirely sure how he was going to finish it anyway. “I’m going to head back to my apartment now. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow? I really hope you feel better this morning, Steve. Honest.”

Tony stood up, groaning when his stiff legs protested at the movement and tapped lightly on Steve’s door. Man, he was getting old if he couldn’t even spend a couple of hours on a hard floor. There wasn’t an answer from inside Steve’s apartment, but that also meant that he had stopped his crying.

Was any of that on Tony’s part?

“See you later, Steve.”

/

Tony sighed as he pulled open his door to see an empty corridor. It had been six days since Tony had stayed up all night talking to Steve, and he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. They had never gone so long without bumping into each other and they usually left for work at the same time every morning.

Maybe Steve was embarrassed. Maybe Tony had completely screwed everything up by going and talking to him. He should have just left the guy alone and not bothered to pester him, getting all up in his personal business and being nosey. It was all Tony’s fault and now he’d pushed Steve completely away.

He had ruined everything.

Typical Tony.

 

And so it went. Weeks passed with no sign of Steve. Tony had really, truly fucked it. Tony would be in the stairwell and he’d hear the elevator called up to his floor, or he’d get to the foyer to see the front door swinging shut.

He was being avoided and it sucked.

 

Until one seemingly normal Tuesday. It was a month since Tony had heard Steve crying and had tried to help, and he was starting to lose all hope of ever seeing the other man again. But then he opened his door and there, lying on the door mat, was a pink carnation.

Tony’s head shot up just in time to catch a flash of a person before Steve’s door slammed shut. It was enough, though, and Tony wore a smile all day.

 

The next day there was a chrysanthemum – that Tony had to do quite a bit of Googling to find out that name – in a beautiful white. Over the next few days he got a yellow rose, a sprig of ivy, a purple hyacinth and a lovely-smelling sweetpea. He thought back as far as he could, but Tony couldn’t remember anyone ever buying him flowers. He’d had to fish out the vase his mom had bought him, too. He’d only used that once and that was as a makeshift cocktail glass when he’d first moved into the apartment and too many friends had come round at once. Maria would have been proud to see it being used for actual flowers instead of a hideously orange drink.

After another round or twelve of Googling, Tony was left with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that he knew meant ‘thank you’, gratitude, appreciation and ‘sorry’. Although he hardly dared to hope, Tony was sure that they had come from Steve. Sure, Tony got a few stares on the subway, but he didn’t exactly have a queue of secret admirers around the block.

Who else could be thanking him? It had to be Steve.

But then that left more questions. What was Tony meant to do now? Was he meant to acknowledge them; was this Steve’s way of making a move and putting the ball back in Tony’s court?

Oh, man. This was hard.

 

 

/

 

Tony hated the elevator. Really hated it. It was like a metal prison that could drop you at any second. He’d seen _Speed;_ he knew what could happen. But he had no choice now. Laden down with books, there was no way that he was walking down six flights of stairs. He was so engrossed with watching the steady ticking of the indicator showing him where the elevator was that Tony didn’t realise that someone had joined him until they cleared their throat.

Tony shot out of skin and turned to look accusingly at his companion, his glare turning into shock when he saw Steve standing there.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, nothing coming out as he continued to stare at Steve. He didn’t know what to say.

Luckily, Steve spoke for him.

“Hi.”

Tony cleared his throat and returned Steve’s hesitant smile, his voice just as soft and unsure as Steve’s had been. “Hey.”

The ping of the elevator’s arrival made them both jump and they chuckled lightly as the tension broke. Steve stepped back ever so slightly and gestured for Tony to enter first, getting a small smile in thanks.

The ride was silent, but not uncomfortable. Every couple of seconds one of the two men glanced at the other before their eyes flickered away quickly, cheeks colouring. When the doors opened in the entrance hall, Steve chewed on his lip for a moment and scuffed his feet.

“Would you, I mean… are you going to be in later?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, voice kind. “I’ll be in around 6 and I’m not going back out.”

“Cool.” Steve lifted his gaze and smiled at Tony, a flash of his usual confident self shining through for a moment. “Have a good day, Tony.”

 

 

 

Time seemed to move glacially slowly all day and every time Tony caught sight of a clock it was somehow still the same time as it had been when he’d last looked. He was a scientist. He knew it was not possible for time to actually stand still, but damn, did it feel like it could.

When he finally made it home, Tony could barely sit still. He felt like he might just explode with nerves, vibrate right out of skin with the anxiety. It was highly improbable that Steve had gone out of his way to set up a meeting just to yell at Tony, but who knew?

Tony didn’t.

 

There was a knock at the door at 6.15 and Tony practically threw himself across his apartment to answer the door. Taking a deep and steadying breath, he pulled it open to reveal Steve.

Well. To reveal a huge bouquet of yellow roses, actually. The flowers lowered and _there_ was Steve, his beautiful face smiling sheepishly over the blooms.

“Hi,” he said softly and Tony beamed.

“Hey. Come in?”

It was the first time that Steve had been in Tony’s apartment and Tony couldn’t help but be nervous about it. He kept his place relatively clean, but he was only a man after all and he wasn’t at home all that much anyway. There weren’t too many dishes in the sink and he had at least put away his laundry, so that was something.

He was brought out of his surveying when Steve thrust the bouquet towards him. Catching it instinctively, Tony took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered shut at the smell.

“You don’t have to say thank you, you know,” he said lightly as he crossed the open-plan floor to the kitchen.

Steve coughed. “Oh. Didn’t know you knew that’s what they meant.”

Tony threw a smile over his shoulder. “Google is my friend.”

Steve laughed and Tony noticed some of the tension leave his shoulders. _Good,_ he thought. Steve shouldn’t feel awkward around him. Silence fell again as Tony filled up his single vase with fresh water and dumped the roses into it. He tried to arrange them, but come on. He didn’t have green thumbs, not by a long shot, but he was happy with the general shape he produced.

Steve flashed him a pleased smile when he held it up in question, so he figured he’d done okay.

“Do you want a–”

Just as Tony started to offer Steve a drink, the man turned sharply and began to talk, cutting over Tony. He snapped his mouth shut quickly and gestured for Tony to continue.

“No, please. I was only going to offer you a drink, but… you go.”

Steve sighed and dropped down onto one of the stools by the breakfast bar.

“It’s only me and my mom,” Steve started lowly, his eyes fixed on the dark counter and fingers trailing the groove left from where Rhodey had bet Tony he couldn’t make a working engine from food. He could and did, but his table had gotten a little broken in the process. Whatever. “My dad died when I was younger and we didn’t have any other family. My best friend is basically my brother and when his parents moved away, mom practically adopted him.

“So it was always just us and she, well, she’s my everything. Is that weird?”

Tony shook his head, even though Steve couldn’t see him. He didn’t think that was weird. He liked the idea, actually. It sounded nice.

“Anyway,” Steve said and it sounded like he was having difficulty swallowing something. “I got a call about a month ago. She… there was an accident. She collapsed at work and had to go to the hospital.”

Tony gasped and saw Steve huff in agreement. Wisely keeping his mouth shut, Tony reached out and placed a gentle hand on Steve’s shoulder. _Not the time to feel those muscles,_ he chided himself, but the way that Steve relaxed so much underneath his simple touch sent a thrill down to his toes.

“She’s okay,” Steve said and Tony didn’t know why the hell he felt so much relief, so much that he could almost taste it, over some woman he didn’t even know. “She was okay by like the second week, but I lost it. I just couldn’t picture my life without her, and I freaked. That’s, well, that’s what you all overheard. Me breaking down.”

“I’m sorry.” That seemed like the biggest cop-out in the world, but Tony just couldn’t think of how else to say everything he was feeling. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

Steve finally lifted his gaze and met Tony’s, his blue eyes flashing with determination. “You don’t know how much you helped me that night, Tony. I was completely losing it, just didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t allowed in the hospital that night and I didn’t know where to go. You helped so much; kept me grounded.

“I wanted to say thank you, but I was ashamed, I guess. It’s nothing… I know it’s not a bad thing to do, but I… Well, anyway. Bucky flew in the day after and I spent every other minute with him and my mom. But I couldn’t not say anything to you. I’m so grateful, Tony. You’re such a wonderful person.”

Tony scoffed as his cheeks heated up, trying to wave Steve away. But Steve reached out and caught his hand, not breaking their eye contact for a moment as he stared at him.

“I mean it. You’re amazing, and I couldn’t go another day without telling you. If I didn’t want you before…” Steve trailed off and Tony found himself at a total loss for words.

“You…” Oh, man. That wasn’t a word, Tony. That was a _squeak._ Tony cleared his throat and tried again. “Me?” Nope. Still a squeak.

Ah, fuck it. Who needed words anyway?

Tony surged forward and pressed his lips against Steve’s, taking the man completely by surprise and using it to his advantage. He swept his tongue against Steve’s bottom lip, trembling at the wonderful taste, and squeezed Steve’s hand in his. After a moment of total stillness, Steve responded.

_Damn_ , did he respond.

Tony felt Steve’s hand reach up to cup his cheek, thumb swiping along his cheekbone as his head was tilted ever so slightly to the left. The new angle was perfect and made their lips fit together even more seamlessly, the ultimate merging of heat and wet, tongue and lip.

It was a long kiss, one that burnt from a scorching passion to a simmering embrace, sweet and seductive all at once. When it finally ended, neither man moved away. They stayed there for a long moment, Steve sitting at the breakfast bar with Tony between his legs, hands tangled in dark hair or fisted in loose material. It was impossibly sweet to just share the same breath as someone else, feeling their heartbeat against yours with no intention to take it any further.

“I like being confident,” Steve whispered, “I like having the answers and winking to make you blush.”

“I like that too,” Tony said just as softly, “well, sometimes.” Steve laughed against Tony’s lips, and wasn’t that hot? “But I also like being there for you.”

Steve was quiet, but Tony felt the gently pressure of his fingers as they tightened their grip in reply.

“You can break for me. I’ll be there to fix you up.”

“I’d like that,” Steve said. “My handyman.”

 

 

 


End file.
